Blog

South Africa based pay TV, Multichoice Cable television will no longer air controversial transgender reality television programme, “I am Cait’’ following pressure from Nigeria their biggest subscriber base.

The World Health Organization has announced that the Zika virus strain responsible for the outbreaks in Brazil has been detected in Africa for the first time.

The WHO said it was concerned that the latest strain was spreading and was "on the doorstep of Africa". It is currently circulating in Cape Verde, an archipelago off the North West coast of Africa.

The announcement is coming on the heels of President Barack Obama’s slamming of the US Congress for failing to back his request for a $1.9bn fund to combat the spreading Zika virus warning that the country could face "bigger problems" in the future. Latest figures showed that there were nearly 300 pregnant women in the US who had tested positive for Zika.

There have been more than 7,000 suspected cases of Zika in Cape Verde, with 180 pregnant women thought to have been infected. The WHO says three babies have been born brain damaged with microcephaly.

Zika has been linked to neurological disorders including babies being born with small brains.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said: "This information will help African countries to re-evaluate their level of risk and adapt and increase their levels of preparedness."

She urged African countries to start raising awareness among pregnant women of the complications with the Zika virus and encourage people to protect themselves against mosquito bites and sexual transmission.

There have been around 1,300 confirmed cases of microcephaly - babies born with small brains - in Brazil, with thousands more under investigation.

A UK researcher said the Zika virus has been circulating at a low level in African countries for more than 50 years, so some of the population may already be immune.

"It is likely that the South American, Caribbean and Polynesian populations had no prior immunity to the virus, so a high proportion of people who are bitten by infected mosquitos caught the disease," said Dr Anna Checkley, of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, University College London Hospitals.